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| Turkey court releases Amnesty head Taner Kilic | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A court in Istanbul has ordered the release of the head of human rights group Amnesty International in Turkey, who was detained last June. | A court in Istanbul has ordered the release of the head of human rights group Amnesty International in Turkey, who was detained last June. |
| Taner Kilic had been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, an accusation the London-based group had described as "baseless". | Taner Kilic had been charged with membership of a terrorist organisation, an accusation the London-based group had described as "baseless". |
| The court ordered his release on bail. Ten other activists are also on trial. | |
| The arrests were part of a crackdown following the failed coup attempt of July 2016. | The arrests were part of a crackdown following the failed coup attempt of July 2016. |
| In a statement, Amnesty welcomed Mr Kilic's release, but said it would continue to pressure for the charges against the 11 activists, including another Amnesty member, to be dropped. | |
| Gauri van Gulik, the group's Europe director, said: "These unfounded prosecutions are an attempt to silence critical voices within Turkey but have only served to highlight the importance of human rights and those who dedicate their lives to defending them." | |
| Mr Kilic was accused of using an encrypted messaging application called Bylock that the Turkish government said was used by followers of the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. | Mr Kilic was accused of using an encrypted messaging application called Bylock that the Turkish government said was used by followers of the US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. |
| President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Mr Gulen of being behind the coup attempt - a charge the cleric denies. | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Mr Gulen of being behind the coup attempt - a charge the cleric denies. |
| More than 40,000 people were arrested and 120,000 sacked or suspended from their jobs in the aftermath of the failed coup. They include police, military personnel, teachers and public servants. | |
| Amnesty has been a vocal critic of the crackdown on suspected coup plotters. It said in 2016 it had "credible reports" of detainees being subjected to "beatings and torture, including rape". |